Biking The New River Trail – Friday, Jun 27, 2014

Summer Travel Map
00 - Stony Fork Travel Map

                              A - Myrtle Beach State Park, Myrtle Beach, SC          Jun 18-25
                              B - Zooland Family Campground, Asheboro, NC      Jun 25-26
                              C - Stony Fork Campground, Wytheville, VA             Jun 26-Jul 2


 One of the main reasons we came to Stony Fork Campground was to bike more of the New River Trail.  The New River Trail is a State Park.  It is 57 miles long and its average width is 80 FEET!!!  The State Park is really the railway right of way that was donated to Virginia to create this State Park.
 
Click HERE to learn more about New River Trail State Park.
 

00 - New River Trail SP Map

Click HERE to see a readable version of this map;o))

Click HERE to see the park brochure and more detailed maps.


Last summer, we biked a round trip from Foster Falls to Fries Junction and back.  After doing some more research, we learned that the trail from Fries to Fries Junction is suppose to be the most beautiful. 

So today, we set out to check it out!! 

The trip from Stony Fork Campground to Fries Trailhead was about an hour. 

Lots of mountain roads with lots of squiggles;o))
00b - Squiggles

 
 
There was plenty of parking at the Fries Trailhead and it cost $4 per car.

01 - Parking at Fries Park $4 01a - Parking Area at Fries Park

 
 
Getting Ready To Roll ;o)

02 - Ready to Roll



Our bike ride was a round trip from Fries to Gambetta and back. It was just about 15 miles. 

However, that 15 miles took us almost 2 hours as we stopped so often to enjoy the views!! 
 
The New River is unusual because it flows south to north. 

Click HERE to learn more about this unique river.


Click on any photo to enlarge or hover your mouse on any photo for a description.


The Trail is packed gravel and well maintained.

03 - Trail is Packed Gravel and well maintained

 
 
 
On one side of the trail is the river and on the other side is the mountain!!
 

04a - The River  04b - The Mountain

 
 
 
There were little bridges and big bridges!!
 

05a - Little Bridge  05b - Big Bridge

 
 
 
There were places to rest and places to take care of business ;o)
 

06a - Place to takes a rest  06a - Place to takes care of business

 
 
 
There was a tunnel…     A VERY DARK TUNNEL :o((
 

07a - A Tunnel  07b - A  Very Dark Tunnel

 
 
 
There were Memorials and beautiful primitive campsites along the river :o)
 

08a - Memorial  08b - Beautiful Primative Campsites

 
 
 
There were Wildflowers…  Lots and Lots of Wildflowers!!!
 

9a - wildflowers9b - wildflowers9d - wildflowers9f - wildflowers9e - wildflowers9c - wildflowers

 
 
Click on any photo to enlarge or hover your mouse on any photo for a description

 
 
 
There was abundant  shade and the BEST lunch spot :o))
 

10a - Lots of Shade  10b - The Best Lunch Spot

 
 
 
But this ride is really about the RIVER VIEWS !!!
 

11a - River View    11b - River View

11c - River View    11d - River View

11e - River View    11f - River View

 
ABSOLUTELY  BEAUTIFUL !!!

9 comments:

  1. That's some mighty pretty country you're in :) Hope the temps are more to your liking also! :)

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  2. Wow what a beautiful ride you had. The New River is a National Scenic River and has been kept very pristine luckily. It's why it is so beautiful. Lots of white water kayaking and rafting goes on there in the spring. So glad to see you two out having such a great time.

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  3. Beautiful! This trail has been on our bucket list. We have heard from friends how great this trail is.

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  4. Beautiful! Tom and I went whitewater rafting a couple times on the New River . . . in our much younger days!! We'll have to add that park to our "Things to Do" list for next year!

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  5. 80 foot wide bike path? Is Bill getting a little wobbly on his bike that he needs that much space? ;c)

    What a special day!

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  6. Wow, what a lovely trail. Nice to have that river view. That tunnel looks a bit scary!

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  7. This trail is on our list for August. We are going to do the Creeper trail too...a bit of a drive but know it will be well worth it!

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